


Seducing the Slytherin

by FizzleFudge



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Fluff, M/M, a lot of drabbles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:20:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29389029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FizzleFudge/pseuds/FizzleFudge
Summary: Josh whistled quietly as he looked at Connor across the hall. “Wow. He’s quite a stiff one, eh?”“I bet two sickles that you can’t loosen him up before Christmas break”, Simon said, and it took a minute for Markus to understand it was directed athim.“No way he’ll manage that”, Josh said. ”Break’s only two weeks away.”Markus grinned. “It’s on.”
Relationships: Connor/Markus (Detroit: Become Human)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 57





	1. Schoolbook Perfect

The Great Hall was loud as always, with students of various ages chatting and laughing across the tables underneath the candle-lit roof. By the teachers’ table, Headmaster Fowler was quarreling with Professor Anderson and seemed to pay the rising volume no mind. Neither did Markus, who sat with his friends by the far end of the Hufflepuff table. Although Josh was the only one of them belonging to that house, Hufflepuffs welcomed students of other houses to sit at their table, whereas the rest tended to be more reluctant.

“Markus, I can’t believe you received _two_ love letters in _two days!_ That’s insane!” Simon spoke vividly, gesticulating to empathize his point.

“It _is_ quite impressive”, Josh agreed.

“Oh, hush it”, Markus rolled his eyes at them. “There’s no proof they’re not from the same person.” He received three sets of raised brows in return.

“They’re both signed from two separate girls.” North deadpanned, and Markus cringed as he tried to think of an excuse.

“Well, one of them might’ve been too afraid to admit it was them, and used another name in their place.”

“They’re written in completely different handwriting, Markus!” Simon put his head in his hands, before sneaking a glance between his fingers. “Can you believe this guy?” He whispered loud enough for Markus to overhear, and he shoved his shoulder lightly in response.

“So, what are you going to do?” Josh asked as he took a bite of food.

“I don’t know”, Markus answered truthfully. The girls had both written cute notes asking him out on respective dates, and although he was familiar with both of them, none had caught his attention until now. One of them was in the same year as him, although from Ravenclaw, but despite her kindness, she was not particularly intriguing. The other girl was two years his prior and only in the fourth year, and was therefore not an option in his book. He sighed. “I guess I’ll have to face them and say I’m not interested.”

“You’re not?” The corner of Simon’s lips fell, and Markus felt bad for the lad. No matter how much of a romantic he was, Simon had still not managed to take anyone out on a date this year, and was quite obviously jealous of Markus’ attention, unwarranted as it was.

“No. Or maybe? I don’t know.”

“I think you should go out with her”, Josh said, but which of the girls he meant was unclear. “Not to stress you or anything, but you still haven’t been with anyone since-”

“Do not”, North threatened him with a fork, “finish that sentence!” They all knew not to speak of the short period in their fourth year when Markus and North had dated. It had been alright after they broke up, but it was still embarrassing to bring up. Especially North had moved on from that, and seemed to want nothing more than to repress their awkward dates till everyone forgot about them. Markus inclined to agree.

“Ah, I don’t know”, Markus repeated as he carefully watched North put her fork down again. “It’s not the dating I don’t want. Believe me, I would love to meet someone. It’s only that they need to be more…”

At that moment someone whistled loud enough to cease the high volume of the hall. Surprised by the loud noise, everyone paused their chattering to instead direct their attention to its source. By the middle of the Slytherin dining table, the Prefect Markus knew as Connor stood on the bench, robe buttoned up and perfectly straight as he eyed the hall with a cold expression.

“You may have noticed the increasingly high volume in here.” He spoke loudly, and when some younger students started giggling, he sent them a burning glare that shut them up immediately. “For your own health and peace of mind, I advise you to keep your conversational tone as low as possible. Thank you.” Without indicating he noticed every face in the Great Hall still watching him, he sat down gracefully and looked into the far distance without meeting anyone’s gaze.

Josh whistled quietly. “Wow. He’s quite a stiff one, eh?”

“Yeah, no kidding.” North agreed and grimaced, whereas Simon’s face broke into a full-blown grin. 

“I bet two sickles that you can’t loosen him up before Christmas break.” He said, and it took a minute for Markus to understand it was directed at _him._

“No way he’ll manage that”, Josh said. ”Break’s only two weeks away.”

Markus considered the bet. Connor was the other sixth year Prefect from Slytherin besides North, and since all of them were Prefects of their own respective houses, he had met the boy a few times. Josh was right in saying he was stiff; not once had Markus seen him act any other way than schoolbook perfect. But somewhere below that good-boy facade an intricate personality must have its residence, Markus was certain. He grinned.

“It’s on.”


	2. Impeccable Posture

He began scheming early the next day. The other boys in his dormitory were still asleep when Markus returned from his shower, and he grabbed his bag before making his way to the Great Hall. Simon was already awake and reading a book by the Ravenclaw table, and since only a scarce few were down for breakfast this early, Markus joined him.

“Whoa, you frightened me”, Simon said after visibly jumping in surprise. “What brings you up so early? Lice in your bed?”

Markus laughed. “Not quite. I wanted to talk to Connor before class starts.”

“Oh.” Simon grinned. ”Already taking the bet seriously?” He looked toward the entrance and nodded that way. “He’s on the entry.”

Indeed, Connor had just entered the main door, with impeccable posture and a searching gaze that seemed to land on someone by his table. Markus didn’t hesitate to follow, and left Simon to continue his reading. Or rather, his espionage on this interaction.

“Hey.” Markus sat down beside Connor, who had chosen a seat a bit away from everyone else. For a brief moment, he wondered if the boy had any friends at all.

“Hello”, Connor answered after looking to his sides, as if Markus’ greeting was meant for someone else. He didn’t outright question the reason why Markus sat there, but it was presumably inclined.

“My name is Markus”, he said stupidly. Obviously he knew that; they were both prefects and had been to quite a few meetings together in which they had been obliged to introduce themselves. “I believe we have transfiguration class together this year?”

“That is correct.”

“Hah, yeah”, he watched as Connor started to butter up a piece of bread, and realised he had avoided eye contact all this time. How rude. “You must’ve seen me turn into a parrot instead of a cat, then?” It was embarrassing to remind anyone of that crude mistake, but he really didn’t know how else to make Connor open up to him.

“I did.”

Wow, Markus thought. This guy really has no social skills, does he? Sure, he responded, but he could have provided something a bit more eloquent than an affirmative answer. Perhaps he was taking too much to carry under this bet, and should just walk over and give Simon his two sickles right then and there.

_ “Well, _ maybe you could help me?” He asked instead of relinquishing his pride by giving up. At that, Connor’s head jerked up, although he still kept his gaze downcast.

“...Help you?” He sounded intrigued. Or, as intrigued as someone with the same monotonous voice would ever sound, Markus supposed.

“Yeah! Like, a mentor, or something? It would help me and I’m sure it would look good on your resumé.” Markus was proud of his idea, and it would actually be profitable, since he didn’t lie about not being too good at transfiguration. 

“A mentor”, he repeated slowly. When he looked up, Markus had to draw in a breath at the intensity in the eyes that finally met his own gaze. “Fine, I accept your offer. But only because it  _ will  _ look good on paper.”

“Great!” Markus beamed, and Connor looked away again, already preoccupied with putting stuff on his sandwich. “Are you free after dinner tonight?”


	3. Classrooms After Dusk

They met by Hogwarts’ main entrance, and wandered the corridors together in search of an unlocked classroom. Markus spoke the entire time, and received hums of acknowledgements from Connor once in a while to indicate he was listening. By the eastern hall on the second floor, they slipped in a room that was empty apart from some desks and a grand piano on a little podium by the front. By habit, Markus slipped down on the piano seat, while Connor eyed the room suspiciously.

“I didn’t know we had any instruments here.”

“It’s only for those who chose music studies as an extra course”, Markus explained. “I’ve played here since third year, although I learned to play the basics by my father at home.” Honestly, he kind of hoped Connor would ask him to play some piece, since it always seemed to be a romantic trope in literature, and _that_ would surely get a reaction out of the boy. But he was disappointed when Connor only hummed in response, and went to sit on one of the desks.

“Alright. Well, I must admit I haven’t got an entirely calculated picture of your transfiguration skills, since we’ve only had this class together for half a year.” He took out a few papers from somewhere in his cloak, and Markus nodded as he made his way over to take a look.

“That’s alright, I’m not entirely hopeless. I just get some things mixed up sometimes. Especially transforming myself is hard.”

“I see. Then how about we start with-”

Connor was interrupted by the door slamming open rather loudly. On instinct, the two of them jumped from their seats, drawing their wands and pointing them at the intruders. At first, it was hard to make out who, or even _what_ was standing by the door, not only because of the dim lightning but also because the figure was cloaked and moving rackedly. That’s when Markus noticed the sloppy noises, and realised it was two people absolutely caught up _snogging_.

Then, two gasps were heard, accompanied by two hoods being removed, behind which two faces were grinning sheepishly.

“‘m so sorry, mates”, one of the two students spoke - presumably a boy.

“We didn’t mean to interrupt your date”, the other, a girl, added and giggled. The couple made a move to walk away, but Connor spoke before they had time to close the door.

“This is not a date”, he said, face blank of emotion as always. ”We’re merely studying transfiguration.”

Markus’ mouth fell open slightly. Sure, it wasn’t a romantical date, yet a lot of people called study-sessions for dates as well, so the random couple weren’t awfully wrong in their assumption. Still, for Connor to point that out, how concerned was he to be caught alone with another boy? Was it because of the romantical presumptions it could incline, or was it merely the fact that as a prefect, he should not encourage other students to sneak into empty classrooms after dusk? 

After a few beats, the couple by the door started laughing.

_“Sure”,_ the girl said, drawing out the vowel to signify disbelief. _“Every_ one knows the music room is for making out in.”

Markus’ eyebrows shot up enough to reach his buzzcut in surprise. _He_ had not known that. He chanced a glance at Connor, who still watched the couple with a carefully crafted mask of indifference.

“Don’t worry, pals”, the boy said, and led the girl outside by the arm. Before closing the door entirely, he stuck his head through the crack and added, “neither of us will tell anyone.” With a wink, he was gone.

Left was Markus with Connor, who seemed to have gotten impossibly _stiffer_ than before. He cursed internally. Getting this boy to warm up might be much harder than he originally thought.


	4. Impressive Broomstick

Some following day by lunch, Markus spotted Connor making his way to the quidditch fields. It was weird, seeing as it was surely five degrees below zero, and in no way comfortable weather for a ride. Furthermore, Markus didn’t think Connor was even in his house’s quidditch team.

His friends whistled and catcalled after him as he hastily stood to follow the boy from their place by the main entrance.

“Don’t overwhelm him, cowboy!” North called, yet Markus ignored them.

Connor had disappeared behind some trees, but when he was close enough to see the fields, Connor was walking out from one of the tents with an impressive broomstick in hand.

Markus’ eyes lit up at the inclination that they could perhaps ride together, no matter how cold the winter air was.

“Accio Stormbolt”, he whispered, then added; “and accio another jacket.” Then he awaited his objects, still not making himself visible to Connor who had walked onto the great field. The snow was soft and not too deep as he trudged forward, and Markus couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking. That impenetrable mask behind which Connor kept his feelings was ever the villain, he mused.

Then, Connor straddled his broomstick and wasted no time leaping into the air. Markus watched with glee as the boy went up and down, not quite as good as he had thought, yet not void of skills by any means.

When his Stormbolt was within reach and his other jacket around his shoulders, Markus flew onto the field to join the Slytherin boy. The moment he was spotted was apparent; Connor stopped his flight mid-air and stared down at Markus as he made his way upward, twisting and twirling on his way to impress him.

“Hey!” Markus called when he was close enough. “Crazy coincidence meeting you here!”

“Really?” Connor looked unimpressed, lips tight together and one brow raised slightly.

“Yeah! You training for the takeouts?” He remembered the accident one of Slytherin’s quidditch players underwent a month ago, and rumour had it she still wasn’t fully recovered. Most likely, they would have an impromptu takeout for another player to have a chance at winning the early games of next term.

“What if I am?” Still, Connor’s expression was solid as ever, and he seemed to be in full control of his facial muscles. Markus smiled back at him.

“I can help you!” He made a little loop to show off his controlled movements. As Captain of the Gryffindor team, he was bound to know a few things about flying.

“No, thank you.”

Markus’ face dropped. This was a great chance at getting closer to Connor and building a connection. All he needed was for the boy to loosen up a bit and stop being so awfully tense, then the two sickles would be his. Surely some time on the fields together would do him good.

“What! Come on, it’ll be fun.” He flew closer to Connor, who still hadn’t moved a muscle since he’d spotted Markus. “And it’s a payback”, he added. “You know, for the transfiguration lessons.”

At that, Connor opened his mouth to answer, but quickly shut it again. Markus let a small smile find its way to his lips, thinking he was finally about to have an effect on the boy. But then he spoke in the same monotonous voice as always.

“Alright, I accept. But only because you owe me.”

“Of course”, Markus agreed, a great grin already plastered on his face. “What position would you rather play?”

“Seeker.”

Markus nodded. With his lean body and good-boy attitude, he would have a hard time being a beater or a keeper. Even as a chaser he would probably have to catch up a great deal before being ready to play. Seeker was the position of someone agile - who could finish the game victorious even if the team was about to lose.

“I think you’ll be the best seeker Slytherin has ever seen”, he said, although perhaps not entirely truthfully.

Connor turned his head quickly, and said something about getting to the point already. But Markus couldn’t help but feel giddy as he figured it was not impossible he turned to hide a blush at his words.


	5. Personal Playboy

Markus walked beside North down the cold corridor and hugged himself as not to freeze. Born a halfblood, he had grown up with the comforts of muggles as well as the magic of the wizarding world. Thus, he despised the lack of radiators and heating equipment usually found in a northern muggle's home, with which the school board refused to replace the traditional torches positioned by the walls as the only source of heat. 

"You're such a wuss." North playfully shoved his shoulder, and he rolled his eyes at her. 

"Not my fault this school is colder than your heart", he retorted, and recieved a laugh in response. 

"You want me to offer my coat, baby boy? Tuck you in nice and warm?" North teased him, and he would've found it amusing, had he not spotted Connor nearby, clearly within hearing distance. Instead, he blushed and tried to gather the lad's reaction. None, as per usual. 

While the other students hung around the door and leaned against the walls; chatting while they waited for Professor Anderson to arrive, Connor stood some steps away, gazing far into the distance with his head held high. 

When North noticed his sudden change of demeanor, she shoved him again and giggled at his affronted look. Thankfully, she had enough mercy not to verbally tease him so that the boy would hear her another time, but Markus still didn't waste any time in lightly punching her back. 

"You're the worst", he grumbled to her. At that, Connor looked up and locked eyes with Markus. "Hey, Connor!" he greeted, his blush not having entirely disappeared yet. 

"Hello", he said before quickly looking away again. In the corner of his eyes, Markus could see some guy from Slytherin snickering at the other boy. He furrowed his brows. 

"Who's that guy?" He leaned in close to whisper into Connor's ear. As curiosity got the better of him, he didn't realise just how close he'd actually stepped to Connor. He could smell the soft schampoo from the lad's impeccable hair, and could see every little mole scattered along his face. 

"Who?" Connor asked, and pointedly avoided making eye contact with Markus. Apart from visibly gulping and a small twitch of his brow, he failed to react to the close proximity of the other boy. A shame, Markus figured, seeming as they now would've had North as living proof had he actually given a prominent reaction. 

"That guy over the-" 

"Hey, tin-can!" The Slytherin guy he had noticed before interrupted Markus as he made a slow stride towards them, gleering at the way Markus leaned in to Connor without really touching him. "Got yourself a playboy now, eh?" 

Markus regained his posture and grimaced at the guy. 

"Good morning, Reed", Connor answered, without meeting his gaze either and instead looking at a spot by the floor some steps away. 

"Would I be the playboy in this instance?" Markus asked, surprised by his utter rudeness if that was the case. Reed's sneer only broadened. 

"You're that Manfred kid, aren't you?" he asked, but didn't wait for a response as his fiery eyes met Markus' soft ones. "You should stay away from tin-can here." He leaned in to stage-whisper rather loudly. "Stiffer than a tree, that one. I've bet money on him actually being a robot." With a last grin, he walked away laughing, too fast for Markus to come up with a good response. 

Instead, he discreetely pulled his wand from the inner pocket of his robe and mumbled the spell quietly as a breath, then flicked the wand in the direction of Reed. 

Not two seconds later, Reed was on the floor, groaning from the pain of the fall. Beside him, the Gryffindors and even some of the Slytherins laughed at him as he scrambled to his feet and glared at everyone who dared mock him. 

Beside Markus, the corner of Connor's mouth twitched upward slightly. Did he really try to hide a smile? 

Reed turned to face Markus once more. 

"Manfred!" he growled. "You just made a powerful enemy, man. If you as much as look at me again I will-" 

His speech was interrupted by yet another fall to the floor, and this time close to _everyone_ laughed. 

Markus looked around to quess who was guilty this time. North was practically doubled over by the force of her laughter, and her wand was enclosed in her fist rather obviously. Shaking his head in appreciation, Markus reminded himself to repay her for this one. 

"That wasn't how a prefect should behave." Connor spoke quietly beside him, and he looked at the once again stoic expression of the Slytherin. "Yet, thank you." He mumbled the last part, and the slightest traces of a blush was making its way up his neck. 

Markus grinned. 

"Anytime, Connor."


	6. Hogsmeade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a clarification of the introduced characters' houses.
> 
> Gryffindor - Markus  
> Slytherin - Connor, North, Gavin  
> Hufflepuff - Josh, Kara, Luther  
> Ravenclaw - Simon

It was little more than a week until Christmas break, and that meant it was time for everyone to head into Hogsmeade. Close to every student was gathered around the main entrance of the school, waiting to show their parents’ permission to head into town. Some first years ran in the snow, throwing snowballs at each other and laughing when they got hit. Off to the side, a group of fifth years stood and watched them with disdain. One of the kids threw a snowball at one of them, and with reflexes quick as a lynx, the sixth year responded by throwing a spell that left the kid’s hands clasped behind their back. 

Markus laughed softly at the scene. He stood together with North, Josh and Kara as they waited for Simon to join them.

“I swear to Merlin, that boy’s got his head further up in the clouds than all Hufflepuffs combined”, North said. When she received incredulous looks from both Josh and Kara, she added, “no offence.”

“I don’t think his head is in the clouds as much as it is in a book”, Josh argued, and North shrugged.

“I’m just impatient, is all”, North grumbled and they all smiled at her.

“We’re aware”, Markus teased her, and she rolled her eyes. “So”, he addressed them all. “What are you most excited about in town?”

“I heard there’s this really good confection in Honeydukes that I’m just _dying_ to try.” Kara got a glassy-eyed look as she without doubt pictured whatever sweet she was obsessing over.

“Oh really?” Josh nudged her, grinning widely. “So it’s nothing to do with a special _someone_?”

“What?” Kara’s cheeks flushed as she tried to look innocent. “I don’t know what you’re insinuating.”

Josh laughed at her bad acting, and Markus found his own lips creep upward as well.

“Oh, come on. I’ve seen you two all cuddled up in the common room.” He cleared his throat. ”Kara and Luther, sitting in a tree…” Josh sang, and Kara immediately slapped a hand over his mouth when a certain dark-skinned boy emerged from the crowd of students close to them.

“I’ll give you some of the confections I’ll buy if you shut the hell up”, she said hurriedly, and North made an amused snort at her use of language.

“My lips are sealed”, Markus said gravely, the others nodding along with him just as seriously. Then they all broke into laughter at the same time, and Kara rolled her eyes at them. When Luther’s smiling face came close enough to see them, though, her cheeks turned even darker as she fidgeted slightly.

“We’ll see you in town later, yeah?” she asked as Luther started to drag her away into Hogsmeade. They all gave her a thumbs up, and she smiled sheepishly as she let herself be escorted off the premises.

“Five sickles they’ll get married before the end of seventh year”, Josh said when the couple was far enough away that they wouldn’t hear him.

“No way”, Markus said, “I’m certain of it too, and I don’t want to lose any more money.”

“Oh, right”, North waggled her eyebrows at him. “You’re already neck-deep in another bet.”

“I’d almost forgotten about that”, Josh said, then added just as suggestively as North, “how’s it _going_?”

Markus rolled his eyes and dearly hoped the warmth that went to his cheeks weren’t an indication of him blushing.

“It’s going fine”, he said. If he told them about any of his and Connor’s private meetings, they would surely tease him even more and they certainly didn’t need more ammunition than they already had.

As if summoned by the thought of him, Connor emerged from the back of the crowd on his way down the path. His gaze was locked far ahead and it seemed he was walking alone.

“Hey, Connor!” Markus yelled before he could think better of it. He ignored North and Josh’s giggles behind him as he made his way toward the boy. Connor sized him up with his usual cold expression, but stopped in his tracks.

“Good morning”, he greeted, and locked eyes with Markus for a short moment before looking off to somewhere over his shoulder.

“Are you…” Markus blinked. He hadn’t planned this far ahead, and didn’t really know what to say to Connor. “Are you going to Hogsmeade?” Markus could’ve punched himself in the gut for asking something so stupid and obvious, but Connor was as unafected as always.

“Yes, I am”, he responded.

“Of course you are. And… I am too.”

“I figured.”

Markus was ready to fall through the ground, this was so awkward. Was there a spell for that? 

“Yeah”, he laughed anxiously, and that made Connor’s eyes lock with his again. “Do you maybe want to…” He searched his mind for something that would interest someone as dull as Connor in the town. “Have a drink? With me? In The Three Broomsticks?”

Since when was he such a fluttering mess in front of Connor? Markus condemned himself for losing his ever-present cool. Must be stress for the upcoming exams, he figured.

“I…” Connor narrowed his eyes slightly and looked around, as if he expected someone to jump forward and proclaim this was a joke. “You mean… Just the two of us?”

“Y _e_ ah!” Markus’ voice actually _cracked_. “Only if you want to, that is. You’re very welcome to sit with the rest of my friends too, if you’d rather that.”

Connor’s eyes seemed to search Markus' face for something, and he had to force himself not to gulp. Whatever sincerity Connor looked for, he seemed pleased after a moment’s scrutiny, because he took a step back and nodded.

“I’ll meet you outside the inn at three o’clock.” Then he walked away.

Markus was left staring at the space the boy had previously occupied when someone clapped a hand on his shoulder rather harshly.

“Markus and Connor, sitting in a tree-”

Markus didn’t hesitate to punch Josh hard in the shoulder.


	7. The Three Broomsticks

Stuffing his face full of the confections he had received as a bribe from Kara, Markus walked down the main road in Hogsmeade. Not five minutes ago did he manage to disappear unnoticed from his friends in one of the town’s shops, and was now making his way towards the Three Broomsticks Inn.

He was not at all surprised to find Connor already waiting for him outside at five to three o’clock. The boy was cute, Markus surprised himself in thinking. He hadn’t noticed it before, as he had been occupied with cringing at his own awkwardness, but Connor wore a long silver-gray coat which made him look fancy, although the snow that had gathered in his hair only managed to make him seem less daunting and instead rather adorable. Markus shook his head to cease the needless thoughts.

Connor watched him approach, and Markus waved slightly in greeting. When they were close enough to hear each other, he nodded stiffly whereas Markus grinned.

“You made it!” As he would’ve greeted any of his friends, Markus lightly clapped Connor’s shoulder, but quickly drew back his hand when the body completely stiffened below his touch. “Oh.” His smile dropped immediately. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t think that one through.”

“It’s alright”, Connor responded, although he averted his gaze, as if embarrassed.

“No, really.” The last thing Markus wanted was for him to feel uncomfortable. “If you don’t like being touched, that’s completely fine.”

“That isn’t what I…” Connor trailed off, his cheeks turning slightly pink, although that could just as likely have been from the cold. “Let’s just go inside.”

Markus wondered why he had stiffened so much if he wasn’t averse to being touched, and thought back on how he’d gotten the same reaction when that couple in the music classroom had thought the two of them were dating. Well, whatever it meant it was quite the opposite of Simon’s “get him to loosen up”-bet, so he would try harder to avoid that.

Connor held the door open for him, and Markus bowed his head slightly in thanks. Because it was the day almost every student at Hogwarts was allowed into town, the pub was quite crowded, but not entirely filled yet. Markus left Connor by a small table in one of the corners, and soon returned with two cups; one with butterbeer and the other with gillywater. Thanks to Markus’ natural charm, both cups were a tad stronger than what was usually served to sixth years. 

“I forgot to ask what you wanted to drink, so I got both of my favourites.” Markus smiled sheepishly. “Take whichever you want.”

Connor eyed both of the cups, as if calculating their ingredients, before clasping his hand around the gillywater and bringing it close to his face. It took Markus a second to figure out he was sniffing it.

“Wait.” Markus narrowed his eyes. “Don’t tell me you’ve never tasted that before?”

“I haven’t.”

“For real?” He looked incredulously at the other boy. “Then don’t waste your youth any more. Taste it!”

Hesitantly, as if the drink would somehow hurt him if he drank too quickly, Connor brought the cup to his lips and took the smallest of sips Markus had ever seen.

“Well?” He grinned at him. “It’s amazing, right?”

“Are you always this excited about beverages?” Connor asked, and Markus laughed at the sly undertone he could just barely make out.

“Only when credit is really due”, he answered, and took a large swig of his butterbeer.

He closed his eyes and moaned at the sweetness. He had forgotten how amazing this tasted. When he opened his eyes again, Connor was watching him with an intensity to his gaze that he had never seen on him before. Markus grinned sheepishly again.

“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.”

“Th _a_ t’s…” Connor’s voice cracked, and he looked away quickly.

Markus was surprised. Surely, his voice had never been anything other than sturdy before? Connor cleared his throat, neck almost completely flushed.

“That’s alright”, he finished. “I take it you haven’t been in town for long?”

“Uh-huh”, Markus confirmed. He was only barely listening to Connor, since he was quite occupied with marvelling at the prominent blush creeping up the boy’s cheeks. Had he done that? Was it possible that Connor was flustered by Markus? His hopes had almost gotten up when he realised that, no, it must surely be the heat in the pub. A lot of people were inside, and Connor still hadn’t taken off his coat. That was probably it.

“I usually never drink alcohol.” Connor admitted, looking down at his hands that were clasped around the gillywater.

“Really?” Markus wasn’t surprised; he’d never doubted his good-boy persona, nor did he believe underage alcohol consumption was something to be praised in Connor’s eyes. Yet… “What makes this occasion any different?”

Connor took another tiny sip of his cup, and Markus suspected he was stalling.

“I…” Connor began, but didn’t seem to have an answer ready. He took another sip, and Markus got the clue.

“Ah, whatever.” He smiled. It felt like he was making progress here, and he didn’t want it going lost because of a stupid question. “Did you like it?” He asked instead.

“I did.” Connor smiled, and looked up to meet Markus’ gaze. His brown eyes seemed to be sparkling by the candle-lit reflection in them, and a symmetrical pair of dimples made themselves apparent on either side of his cheeks. Markus felt his heart beat faster, and wondered if it was the butterbeer already kicking in.

“G-good”, Markus all but breathed out. He quickly regained his posture. “I’m glad.”

“Me t-”

“Hey, tin-can!”

Suddenly, Connor’s hands left his drink, as it instead started hovering in the air between them. Markus turned his head to see the grinning face of Gavin Reed.

“Good afternoon, Reed.” Connor’s face was immediately drained of all happiness, and his usual stoic expression was carefully in place as he avoided eye contact with the other Slytherin.

“Thanks for the free drink.” As he said it, the gillywater started to float over toward Reed, who was holding his wand rather obviously pointed at the cup. Beside him, a girl and a boy Markus recognized from class but couldn’t recall the names of laughed at Reed’s behaviour. Markus narrowed his eyes.

“Stop that.” He tried to sound daunting, but the three of them sneered down at him as if he was as frightening as a ladybug.

“Oh, yeah?” Reed laughed again. “Or you’ll do what?”

“Or else I will tell the innkeeper you stole Connor’s drink.”

He rose from his chair to stand eye-to-eye with the boy, and was pleased to find he was a centimeter or two taller than him. A tug on his robe made him break eye contact and look down. Connor looked up at him with an indifferent expression, but his voice came out more hushed than before.

“Forget it. He just wants to provoke you. Let him have the drink, I’ll pay you back-”

“See?” Reed laughed again, his two friends joining in. “Connor knows his place.”

He took a step closer to Markus, so that they could smell each other’s breaths. He pressed the tip of his wand to Markus’ chest threateningly.

“And after you embarrassed me in front of the class yesterday, I will make _you_ understand _your_ place as well.” He snickered, as if his speech had been anything to be proud of.

Markus raised his chin. Connor may have reasons to submit to Reed, but in Markus’ eyes, he was just a bully with anger issues. He ignored Connor’s call for surrender and raised his own wand to mirror Reed.

“However much you bet on Connor being a robot”, Markus began, and tried to subtly take over control of the gillywater that was still floating above them. “I bet the double on him being more human than any of us.” With a flick of his wand, the drink was turned upside down, and while a lot of it hit Markus, close to everything splashed down on Reed.

“I will _kill you,_ Manfred!” He shouted loud enough for everyone in the pub to fall silent and turn their heads to him. Suddenly, he was yanked away from Markus, and he tried to kick the one that was holding him until he realised it was Jimmy, the current owner of the inn.

“You’re in quite a lot of trouble, young mister”, he said as he started dragging Reed away. He shot a disapproving look to Markus, but seemed to let him off the hook for this one.

The two friends of Reed shot a last glare at Connor, before leaving as well.

Markus stood some moments to wrap his head around the fact that he’d won in a stand-off against Reed _again_. Then he remembered Connor, and sat down opposite him once more, and couldn’t help beaming at him.

Connor looked at him with a difficult expression.

“You stood up for me”, he said. “Again.”

“I did”, Markus agreed. He took a triumphant swig of his butterbeer, then offered it to Connor to take a sip since his drink was all over Reed now. Connor accepted the drink.

“Yes.” He searched Markus’ face for something, and Markus felt his heart beat louder again, although it was surely just adrenaline from telling Reed off. “You are a good prefect, Markus.”

Markus laughed, and felt his knee brush against Connor’s under the table. A jolt went through his leg and he quickly changed position.

“Oh, why thank you, Connor.” He winked. “I take inspiration from the best.”


End file.
